Sunday syllabus: the week that was and the week ahead

The Bruin men’s basketball team is heading back to the Final Four once again, but there was a lot of other important action this week:

Baseball:

>> Last week: What to make of this 2008 UCLA baseball team? After losing three in a row to Long Beach State, the Bruins dropped from No. 11 in the nation to No. 23 and then lost another game, at San Diego State on Tuesday, 6-3 (Matt Drummond, 0-2, took the loss). But then UCLA went to Tucson for a three-game series against No. 6 Arizona and wins two in a row: 4-3 in 10 innings on Friday night (third baseman Jermaine Curtis had four hits and Drummond, 2-1, won in relief) and 20-8 on Saturday thanks to a 7-for-7, four RBI and four runs scored day by first baseman Casey Haerther (Charles Brewer, 3-2, got the win).

>> This week: The Bruins (12-9, 2-0 Pac-10) finish their series with Arizona today in Tucson, then head home for a 13-game homestand, starting with San Diego State on Tuesday, April 1 at 6 p.m. Then UCLA will square off with rival USC at Jackie Robinson Stadium on Friday (6 p.m.), Saturday (2 p.m.) and Sunday (1 p.m.).

Football:

>> This week: Spring football starts on Spaulding Field on campus April 3 and will continue through April 26 with the Spring game at the Rose Bowl. This week’s practices are open to the public, starting at 3:55 p.m. Thursday and Friday and 11 a.m. Saturday.

Rowing:

>> Last week: The Bruins debuted at No. 13 in the national rankings and are in Redwood Shores, Calif., this weekend for the Pac-10 Challenge against three top 10 teams in Virginia, Ohio State and California on Saturday and Sunday.

>> This week: The Bruins will be in the San Diego Crew Classic in Mission Bay on Saturday and Sunday.

Softball:

>> Last week: UCLA is now the top-ranked team in the nation and won its first two Pac-10 games convincingly this weekend. UCLA defeated Oregon State, 3-0, on Friday (Anjelica Selden, 14-2, got the win) and then freshman Donna Kerr lowered her ERA to 0.48 and improved to 12-1 with a 2-0 shutout of Oregon on Saturday. Megan Langenfeld picked up saves by pitching scoreless seventh innings in both games.

>> This week: UCLA (30-3) faces Oregon again today at Easton Stadium at noon, then has four more home games coming up this week: Washington on Wednesday, Stanford on Friday and California on Saturday and Sunday.

>> Of note: Four Bruins were named to the American team for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing this August: catcher Stacey Nuveman, first baseman Tairia Mims Flowers, third baseman Andrea Duran and shortstop Natasha Watley. Triple gold medalist pitcher Lisa Fernandez was not selected for the team, but is listed as an injury replacement; she had taken three years off from softball to start her family and did not regain her earlier form. The U.S. Team will face the Bruins in an exhibition on Tuesday evening, April 22, at Easton Stadium.

Men’s Basketball:

>> Last week: UCLA (35-3) has won 14 straight games and is heading to San Antonio for the Final Four, the third season in a row that the Bruins will play in the national semifinals. UCLA defeated Western Kentucky, 88-78, on Thursday, cruising to a 21-point lead at half and then holding on after a furious rally by the Hilltoppers. On Saturday, UCLA defeated Xavier, 76-57, building a nine-point edge at halftime and then extending the lead behind 19 points each from Kevin Love and Darren Collison.

>> This week: The Bruins will play Saturday in one national semifinal and if they win, will play for the national championship on Monday, April 7.

Men’s Golf:

>> Last week: Third-ranked UCLA led after 18 holes, but fell to seventh in the U.S. Collegiate Championships in Alpharetta, Ga. The top Bruin finisher was senior Kevin Chappell, who tied for 10th. In a separate tournament, five individual Bruins competed in the Cal Poly Men’s Intercollegiates with freshman Philip Francis tying for seventh in the best finish by a UCLA golfer.

>> This week: UCLA remains in the south and will play in the Administaff Augusta State Invitational at the Champions Retreat Golf Course in Augusta, Ga., beginning Friday.

Men’s Soccer:

>> Last week: Five Bruins made up a quarter of the U.S. Under-23 National Team squad that qualified for the Beijing Olympic tournament at last week’s CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying Tournament. Defenders Kamani Hill (2004-05), Patrick Ianni (2003-05) and Marvell Wynne (2004-05) and forwards Chad Barrett (2003-04) and Sal Zizzo (2005-06) were all on the squad and at least one Bruin started in every game. The U.S. finished the tournament with a 3-1-1 record, won Group A and allowed just two goals while scoring six.

Men’s Tennis:

>> Last week: The Bruins are ranked sixth in the nation and looked like it this past week, shutting out Loyola Marymount, 7-0, at the Los Angeles Tennis Center on Tuesday, then winning its opening Pac-10 matches easily, stomping No. 20 Washington, 6-1, in Seattle on Friday and Oregon, 6-1, in Eugene on Saturday.

>> This week: UCLA has won nine matches in a row and is 15-1 on the season. Next up are California and Stanford in matches to be played Friday and Saturday at the Los Angeles Tennis Center, starting at 1:30 p.m. and 1 p.m., respectively.

Men’s Track & Field:

>> Last week: The Bruins were ranked seventh in the nation in the U.S. Track Coaches Assn.’s pre-season poll and then racked up 238 points to win the Cal/Nevada Championships easily in a two-meet in Fresno. Senior John Caulfield threw a lifetime best of 197-10 -– best in the nation so far -– to win the discus and he also won the shot put with a seasonal best of 62-7 3/4. UCLA won seven events in all, including Henry Hagenbuch’s lifetime-best 3:50.65 in the 1500 m; Boldizsar Kocsor’s win in the hammer (217-3), Elijah Wells in the 400 m (48.02), Jonathan Clark in the triple jump at 49-9 1/4 and vaulter Johnny Quinn with a lifetime best of 17-0 3/4.

>> This week: UCLA will send selected individuals to the Texas Relays in Austin.

Men’s Volleyball:

>> Last week: No. 8 UCLA is putting on a performance this season that would make both Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde proud. Fresh off an upset of No. 1 BYU, the Bruins lost to UC San Diego for the first time ever Friday, losing the match in five sets. UCLA had won 44 in a row over the Tritons. Then on Saturday, the Bruins stopped No. 3 Long Beach State in four games and snapped a five-game losing streak at the Walter Pyramid, led by 6-9 hitter Sean O’Malley with 19 kills.

>> This week: The Bruins are now 15-11 overall and 10-8 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, residing in fifth place. UCLA will play UC Santa Barbara in Pauley Pavilion on Wednesday and then face MPSF leader Cal State Northridge on Friday, also in Pauley.

Women’s Basketball:

>> Last week: UCLA senior Lindsey Pluimer was named to the Pac-10 All-Academic Team for the third year in a row. In addition to being an All-Conference first-team selection on the court, she was honored for her 3.71 grade-point average in Communications Studies. Sophomore guard Erica Tukiainen received honorable mention.

Women’s Golf:

>> This week: The second-ranked Bruins head back into action this week in the PING/ASU Sun Devil Invitational in Tempe on Friday. It’s their last tournament before the Pac-10 Championships on April 21-23.

Women’s Gymnastics:

>> Last week: Defending champion UCLA finished third in the Pac-10 Conference Championships in Seattle, finishing behind Stanford and Oregon State after a fall on the final rotation of the meet. Tasha Schwikert was UCLA’s only individual winner, taking her seventh career Pac-10 title, with a share of the uneven bars title with a 9.95.

>> This week: The Bruins are off; next up is the NCAA Regionals on April 12.

>> Of note: Freshman Brittani McCullough, whose season ended due to injury back on March 9, was named Pac-10 Freshman/Newcomer of the Year. Four Bruins were named to the Pac-10 All-Academic team, including juniors Ariana Berlin and Kristina Comforte and senior Tasha Schwikert on the second team, and senior Natalie Padilla as honorable mention.

Women’s Swimming:

>> Last week: Ten Bruins were named to the Pac-10 All-Academic teams, including first-team selections Tess Schofield (Communication Studies, 3.83 grade-point average) and Katherine Wong (History, 3.72). All-American Nicolette Teo (Anthropology, 3.58), Ellen Brooks (Art History, 3.57) and Kristen Fischer (Comm Studies, 3.57) each earned second-team honors. Honorable Mention recognition was given to Shannon Hackett, Brittany Hill, Julie Imagane, Marisa Samaniego and Chiemi Yamamoto.

Women’s Tennis:

>> Last week: Eighth-ranked UCLA had a good week, blanking Hawaii in Honolulu, 7-0 on Tuesday and then starting Pac-10 play with a 7-0 whitewash of Oregon on Saturday at the Los Angeles Tennis Center. It was Bruin Coach Stella Sampras Webster’s 200th career win in her 12 seasons in Westwood (200-102).

>> This week: The Bruins are now 14-4 and head north for matches with No. 7 California in Berkeley in Friday and fifth-ranked Stanford in Palo Alto on Saturday.

Women’s Track & Field:

>> Last week: The Bruins were ranked sixth in the nation in the coaches’ pre-season poll and finished second at the Cal/Nevada Championships in Fresno. The Bruins had three winners over the two-day event, including freshman Lindsay Rowe in the 100 m hurdles in a lifetime best of 13.74, senior high jumper Allie Miller (5-7) and the 4 x 400 m relay team of Chanelle Curry, Krystin Lacy, Ashlea McLaughlin and Nicole Leach (3:39.30).

>> This week: The Bruins will send some athletes to the Stanford Invitational.

Women’s Water Polo:

>> Last week: No. 1 UCLA scored an impressive 9-3 win over Hawaii in Honolulu on Saturday, led by Courtney Mathewson’s three-goal performance. The Bruins are now 22-0 on the season and 8-0 in Mountain Pacific Sports Federation play.

>> This week: UCLA will entertain California at the Sunset Canyon Recreation Center on Friday, followed by a match with Pacific on Saturday, both starting at 1 p.m.